King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 678 The sunset is infinitely beautiful

As for the Spanish fleet, they were heading north at full speed.

Louis' plan was to circle the island halfway from the direction of the previous sneak attack, shake off the Ming navy, and then head south to his home port.

Louis knew that running northwards would be suicidal.

The shelling was still going on at this moment, but because the distance had widened to more than 200 meters, the accuracy was relatively poor.

Even so, the artillery shells fired by both sides still caused damage to each other.

Standing on the deck, Louis' face was livid.

This time he led his troops to attack, but ended up in defeat. He was unable to face the king's questioning, and resigning was the lightest punishment.

Fortunately, his family was wealthy, and he had been doing business in Indonesia for many years, making a lot of wealth, which he used to bribe the ministers of the royal court to speak in their favor, so it was not impossible for him to get through the crisis safely.

When Louis was considering the follow-up matters, an officer suddenly shouted: "There are warships in the northeast..."

The large number of warships in the northeast are the Liaodong Navy reinforcements, and they are approaching the Spanish fleet rapidly.

Zhao Chengwu, the admiral of the Liaodong Navy, was standing in front of the deck at this moment, looking at the large amount of gunpowder smoke in the distance.

He saw the Spanish fleet retreating northward, but he didn't know what was happening inside the smoke, so he couldn't judge the outcome of the battle.

But one thing was very clear to him: the Spanish fleet suffered heavy losses. Many ships had either broken sails or damaged hulls, so it was obvious that the losses were not small.

Now the Liaodong Navy is in the upper wind position, fully equipped and well-organized. Zhao Chengwu thinks they can fight.

So he ordered all ships to get ready, move forward and wait for the order to open fire.

A few minutes later, as Zhu Jinghong's flagship rushed out of the smoke, more Ming army warships appeared in Zhao Chengwu's sight, giving him a clearer understanding of the battlefield situation.

Now the Spanish fleet is heading north abnormally, and the main navy of the Ming Dynasty is chasing it. It is obvious that the Spanish were defeated in the naval battle just now.

After reaching this conclusion, Zhao Chengwu became more confident. In his opinion, the time had come to make achievements.

"Advance at full speed and stop all enemy ships!" Zhao Chengwu gave the order again.

The warships of the Liaodong Navy headed straight to the southwest instead of moving closer to the central army as planned.

This does require decisiveness, and Zhao Chengwu's performance is very satisfactory.

On the other side of the Spanish fleet, Louis' heart was in suspense. He was more anxious than Zhu Jinghong just now.

What they lacked now was speed. As long as they could bypass the island before the Ming army intercepted them, they would have a chance of escaping.

Of course, it was just hope. Their supplies were still insufficient and many of their sails were damaged, which restricted their progress.

But now, they have no other choice but to try their best to break out.

At this time, Louis felt regretful again. He felt that the biggest mistake in this war against the Ming was that he should not have strategically despised the Ming army.

He was too arrogant, thinking that the Ming navy was formed in a short time and had no strength to fight any tough battles. What's worse was that he overestimated his own strength.

While Louis was thinking, his adjutant reminded him from behind: "Commander, I'm afraid we can't break out!"

After a simple calculation, we came to this conclusion, which is usually correct.

"Pass on my order, the Third Fleet will leave to block the attack, and the rest of the fleets will retreat along the established routes!"

Taking on the blocking mission is undoubtedly a dead end, but it does have a chance to win life for the main fleet.

After a few moments of silence, the deputy official finally replied, "Yes, Commander!"

Soon the military order was passed down, and the six warships of the Spanish Navy's Third Fleet in Luzon left the fleet and headed towards the Liaodong Navy.

Their movements were easily detected by Zhao Chengwu, who immediately took countermeasures.

Since the incoming army wanted to block his side, he could also send out another fleet to block them, and the main force would have no contact with the remnants of the Spanish army.

Soon, a few minutes passed and the blocking fleets of both sides began to fight, while Zhao Chengwu led his fleet to block the main force of Spain to the north.

"Prepare for artillery fire!" Zhao Chengwu ordered.

This time, Louis was really desperate, and the panic in his heart made him look extremely ugly.

A noble and general of his level could still survive if he was defeated in Europe, but now the battlefield is on the Far East Ocean.

"The commander on the other side is the son of the Emperor of Ming. He should have the integrity of a nobleman!"

At this time, Louis had placed his hope of survival on Zhu Jinghong's mercy.

The artillery battle had already begun. The Spanish fleet was in the wrong position and its formation was not properly distributed, so it was severely attacked by the Liaodong Navy after it approached.

The main force led by Zhu Jinghong also arrived at this time and launched an artillery attack on the Spanish fleet.

The roar of cannons, the screams of soldiers, the shattering of cabins...all kinds of chaotic sounds were displayed on the clean sea.

The battle finally ended half an hour later.

Most of the Spanish fleet was sunk, and many Spanish soldiers jumped into the sea to save their lives. At this time, the Ming army launched small boats to capture prisoners.

During this process, some Ming soldiers shot at Spanish soldiers with muskets in order to seek revenge and vent their anger. The number of casualties was impossible to count.

Of course, not all Spanish warships were sunk. Four of them chose to surrender, including Louis' flagship.

Louis did not have the shame that a defeated army should have. He was taken away from the Spanish flagship by the Ming army and still held his head high when he appeared in front of Zhu Jinghong.

This made Zhu Jinghong think that the man in his forties in front of him might be much more shameless than him.

"I am the Marquis of Luis of the Kingdom of Spain, the current commander of the Kingdom's fleet in Indonesia. I hope to receive the preferential treatment you deserve!"

After hearing the translator's retelling, Zhu Jinghong hadn't said anything yet when the generals around him all laughed, and laughed very loudly.

Louis heard the sarcasm, so much so that he blushed at this moment. The current scene really embarrassed him.

"I heard that you are the prince of Ming. Don't you have the manners and etiquette that a noble should have?"

Hearing these words, Zhu Jinghong, who was sitting behind the desk, said, "You drove a warship across thousands of miles of ocean and killed tens of thousands of my people. Is this what you call courtesy?"

"If we don't observe etiquette, the generals around us would have chopped you into pieces and thrown you into the sea to feed the fish!"

This is not an exaggeration. Many generals suggested that Louis and others should be killed directly.

"What do you intend to do with me, Your Excellency?" Louis lowered his proud head.

He was a marquis and a naval commander. He was rich and powerful in Europe, with status, money, and countless women. He certainly didn't want to lose his life here.

So he continued, "If you have any conditions, please tell me!"

"The conditions for peace were already stated during the negotiations at the beginning of the year, but you didn't pay attention to our demands!"

"If I can't get something at the negotiation table, I like to get it myself instead of talking nonsense with you!"

After saying this, Zhu Jinghong looked at Wang Long who was standing to one side and ordered, "Lock him up with all the other prisoners and send them all back to Zhejiang!"

"I will report this to your majesty and have the court sentence them to death for murder!" "Your Highness is wise!"

Louis and others were taken away, and then Zhu Jinghong arranged for them to rest.

As for how to make the specific corrections, it is up to the three naval admirals to arrange it themselves, as these matters are originally within their scope of responsibility.

Everyone had been drifting on the sea for several months, so their biggest wish was to go ashore, catch fish, make fire, cook and take a bath. They were all eager to do so.

This time the Spanish fleet was almost completely wiped out, and the threat at sea was basically eliminated, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a break.

So except for a small number of warships patrolling and guarding, all other battlefields were anchored at sea, and the soldiers took small boats to the island with supplies.

The island was very large, and it was easy to find a suitable beach for landing. The soldiers discovered animals before they even went ashore, which made them extremely excited.

The steamed buns, dried meat and pickled vegetables they had been eating for the past few months were so filling that they were almost sick of them. Hunting for fresh meat was very attractive to them.

The soldiers shouted excitedly, venting the emotions they had been pent up for days. This quiet island welcomed tourists after a long absence.

An hour later, Zhu Jinghong also arrived at the island. The feeling of stepping on the land made him feel very familiar. It was an unprecedented feeling.

He immediately went to the place where the wounded were accommodated, and he was followed by three naval admirals, several lieutenants and staff officers.

The military doctors were treating the wounds of these people, and there were constant wailing and screaming at the scene.

Although it looks miserable, in a sense, these people are also lucky, at least they all survived.

And these people who have been wounded and baptized by blood and fire will become stronger warriors and the solid foundation of a powerful navy in the future.

Although they were injured and wailing, when they saw Zhu Jinghong appear, all the wounded soldiers stood up. Those who could not stand up endured the severe pain and stopped shouting.

In this naval battle, Zhu Jinghong personally stood at the forefront, and even went to the deck with a knife in hand to supervise the battle when danger arose, which made everyone deeply admire him.

The most crucial thing is that in this battle against the Spanish Navy, he led the three naval divisions to annihilate the enemy and achieved incredible results, which made his prestige reach its peak.

Based on these, even the injured soldiers tried their best to pay tribute to Zhu Jinghong.

He has received support and endorsement from the bottom up, which is precisely the embodiment of power, and very solid power at that, much stronger than top-down authorization.

"Everyone sit down!" Zhu Jinghong ordered.

His words were orders, and the hundreds of wounded soldiers at the scene did not hesitate and all sat back, enduring the pain.

"Once the supply ship has finished distributing the cargo tomorrow, I have ordered the food transport officer to send you back to the base. You must recover from your injuries when you return..."

Before Zhu Jinghong could finish his words, someone nearby shouted, "Your Majesty, I only have a cut on my forearm. I can still follow you and continue to fight southward!"

After staring at the man for a while, Zhu Jinghong asked, "Who else thinks so?"

After everyone looked at each other, the soldiers who were slightly less injured stood up one after another. There were as many as seventy or eighty of them.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Jinghong smiled.

"They all said that it was because of my leadership that we were able to win this battle!"

"But I want to say that this great victory is entirely due to you soldiers. It is you who are fearless in manning the cannons and raising the sails, and it is you who are not afraid of danger..."

Naturally, Zhu Jinghong began his speech again. He did not hesitate to praise the soldiers, and every word he said touched the hearts of the soldiers, making everyone present not only feel respected, but also received great affirmation.

They have lived for twenty or thirty years and have never felt as satisfied as they do today, and all this was given by Zhu Jinghong.

After Zhu Jinghong gave a speech, he finally issued a military order, forcing everyone to accept the result of returning by boat.

After doing these things, Zhu Jinghong encouraged everyone again, and then left surrounded by the generals.

On the other side of the beach, a large number of soldiers were busy, stretching for several miles.

I'm afraid this island has never seen so many people... Zhu Jinghong guessed secretly.

"See you, my lord!"

"See you, my lord!"

Along the way, wherever Zhu Jinghong went, there would be sounds of worship. He was undoubtedly the core and focus.

Finally, Zhu Jinghong came to the forest on the beach, where there was a relatively wide grassland.

Soldiers have already set up tables and chairs on the grass, and soon all generals above the rank of lieutenant general will gather here to hold a celebration banquet.

The soldiers who came ashore early had already hunted a lot of prey, which had now been roasted and served on the table. Of course, there were also various kinds of fish, which were either made into soup, steamed or fried.

Zhu Jinghong was a prince after all, and along with his guards came several cooks from the palace, and of course eunuchs who served him closely.

"Your Highness, this is a bird that the soldiers caught. It has never been seen in the Ming Dynasty!"

When Yu Hai reported, several eunuchs had already come to Zhu Jinghong carrying cages made of rattan.

These cages contain all kinds of exotic birds, which are indeed species that do not exist in the Ming Dynasty.

After approaching several cages and observing them carefully, Zhu Jinghong said, "It's quite interesting!"

"Pass the order down, have them capture more and send them back with the supply ship tomorrow as a gift to His Majesty as a good omen!"

As he said this, Zhu Jinghong looked at Wang Long behind him, who quickly nodded in agreement.

Presenting strange and auspicious signs to the emperor was a basic operation for the lower-level officials, so Wang Long did not find it abrupt.

Zhu Jinghong then sat down again, and a group of generals also took their seats, and then more generals came one after another.

At the banquet venue, Zhu Jinghong sat facing west and east. In front of him was a wide beach where a large number of soldiers were celebrating, singing, dancing, laughing and joking. The atmosphere was relaxed and cheerful.

Looking far ahead, there is an endless sea. The red sun is about to set above the sea level, dyeing the surging sea surface into orange.

Seeing Zhu Jinghong staring into the distance, the generals also looked in his direction, only to find that today's sunset was particularly beautiful.

“Although the sunset is beautiful, I used to think it was just ordinary. But today, I feel that this scene is so beautiful that it is beyond words!”

This was originally Zhu Jinghong's casual comment. The more than 20 generals who had already arrived, regardless of their positions, started racking their brains, thinking about how to better respond to the words and "flatter" him.

"If it weren't for Your Highness' prompt decision today to turn the tide and save the country from collapse, I'm afraid we would have all been buried in the belly of the fish today, and how could we have the chance to sit and watch the sunset!"

The first person to speak was Xu Minglin, the admiral of the Zhejiang Navy. Although he was a general at the rank of admiral, he was injured in today's naval battle and had gauze wrapped around his forehead.

As soon as Xu Minglin finished speaking, Wang Long, the admiral of the Jinling Navy, spoke up: "Your Highness led the troops and braved the artillery fire. Such heroic spirit and courage make me admire you deeply!"

There are three admirals in total, and two of them have already spoken, which has put the Liaodong Navy Admiral Zhao Chengwu in a difficult position. At this moment, he is racking his brains to say something different and advanced.

On the battlefield, everyone cooperates more than competes, but at a banquet it is the opposite, so Zhao Chengwu becomes particularly nervous when he falls behind.

At this time, Zhu Jinghong said with a smile: "If you keep praising me like this, I will be ashamed!"

Leaning back in his chair more relaxedly, Zhu Jinghong said calmly: "Beautiful views are rare, so enjoy them and cherish them!"

(End of this chapter)